


31 Never Was

by Lady_Avarice



Series: Thirty One [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: AU, Crossover, Halloween
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-01
Updated: 2013-10-31
Packaged: 2017-12-29 13:32:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 18,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1006025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Avarice/pseuds/Lady_Avarice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>31 costumes that Xander never wore.</p><p>Cross posted frmo ff.net and tth.net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Have  Laugh

**Author's Note:**

> _We are who we choose to be._  
>  And on that note, be wise, be wary,  
> For every choice that we would make  
> It’s own risks and tasks are ours to take.  
> What you get is what you see  
> But what you see may not be me.  
> So on Hallow’s Eve I give you this  
> May you become what you most wish.  
> Happy Haunting Hallow’en

“Xander!”

“What!?”

“You are NOT going as a soldier!”

He fought and screamed and even tried the proven puppy-dog eyes, but it was no use.  Buffy handed the last gun to a little kid and that was that.  No gun, no soldier.  Dang it.

Smirking, she sauntered off, assured that her friend would be better for her ‘advice’.

Wondering what he was going to do his eyes fell on a necklace at the bottom of the bargain bin.  It was simple, a little wooden charm on the end of a long leather thong.  Running his thumb over the surface he wondered what he could do with it.  A flash of him and Jesse sitting on his couch, watching Saturday cartoons went through his mind.

He grinned.

It was perfect.  Easy, not embarrassing, and all he really needed was to grab that old black leather jacket out of the attic at home.  The two dollar costume king still ruled.

* * *

 

“Xander!?”

Willow ran through the streets, people and monsters alike passing right through her.  It was weird and gross and she wanted her Xander!

“XANDER!?”

An eerie howl filled the air, almost sounding like it was laughing.  Over the tops of the houses she could see a cloud of dust rise up, a pair of glowing gold eyes looking around d before shooting towards downtown.

“This can’t be good.”

* * *

 

Across town Drusilla suddenly whimpered and curled in a tight ball.  It took nearly an hour before Spike could get anything coherent from her.

“Kitten isn’t Kitten anymore.  Cubling sings to dust and sky and if we stay the dust shall swallow us up!”

They were gone before the night was out.

* * *

 

Xander grinned.  His new… tenant? partner?, anyway, the new guy was fitting in great, and She seemed to like him well enough.  Even if all their cackling and howling was distracting.  He couldn’t wait to meet up with the others.

There were so many new pranks… er, traps they could spring now!

He walked into the library, a little cloud of dust following behind him, looking oddly like a coyote.


	2. Perfect Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CH1: Coyote from Gargoyles

“There you trouble makers are!”

The three teens stiffened as the troll came up.

“Thought you’d get out of it, did you?  Not this year!  You three will be leading trick-or-treaters tomorrow night and your costumes must match.  The theme is heroes.”

Grinning the manipulative little underling stalked off with his clipboard and signatures.

The three traded a look.

“Well this is gonna suck.”

* * *

 

“Ok Xander, I have to admit, the suit works.”

Xander grinned as Buffy spun in place.  Not many could actually pull off the pink suit and pumps, but somehow she did.  Willow, for once not a ghost, walked next to him in army greens with her hair done in two twists.

He himself hadn’t been able to get out of using spandex, but at least it wasn’t that bad.  The bike shorts were actually pretty comfortable and the guy at the store had had the fake handgun he’d needed to top the outfit off.  The two dollar costume king lived!

* * *

 

Ethan was sweating, nervously backing away from the young man he’d sold the last handgun to earlier that day.  Had he known what he was going to be come he’d have destroyed that gun himself.

“Now, now, chap, don’t do anything hasty.”

“Hn.”

The handgun was leveled steadily, aimed right between the mage’s eyes.

“Omae o korosu.”

BANG!

* * *

 

“This is very odd, none of you should have retained any part of your possessions.”

Giles was rambling, polishing his glasses as he looked through all his books on possessions.  Willow sighed, tossing one twist back over her shoulder as she continued to update the first aid kit.  Honestly, how did they make it so long without a basic kit!?

“The benefits are rather nice though.  Your medical abilities, Buffy’s new tact, not to mention proper English.  Xander’s abilities as a hacker are certainly useful.”

The red head winced.  She knew she’d have to tell Giles about Xander’s new little…. problem.

“ Giles, there may be a few issues with Buffy and Xander.”

“Oh?”

“Hi guys.”

Xander walked in, the loud shirt gone, but thankfully no bike shorts, laptop slung over one shoulder.  Both Willow and Giles were sure that somewhere on his person was the now-very-real handgun.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something he froze, eyes wide, as wailing came from the hallway.  Willow thought it may be what a banshee sounded like.

“XAAAAANDEEEEEEER! COME KILL ME!”

Giles blinked and Xander was gone.  A blur of pink rushed into the room, looking around for the now absent teenager.

Willow sighed.  This was so screwed up.  “Yes Giles, issues.”


	3. Feeling Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CH 2: Herro Yuy from Gundam Wing

Xander sighed as the little boy giddily trotted off with the last gun, his mother giving him a grateful smile.  Not even a vamp and he was saving the day!

But now what was he going to do for a costume?

“Xander?”

Willow had escaped the dress-gush for a moment to see how he was doing, and apparently witnessed him giving the little boy the gun.

He was so gonna hear about this later.

But why was she holding up a tube of blue body paint?

“Add a cinnamon bun and what do you get?”

Xander’s eyes widened and he grinned.  The series had been a favorite of Jesse’s and he had always compared him to Ax in the mall when he got hungry.

“Perfect, Wills.  Thanks!”

And he was still the two-dollar costume king!

* * *

 

-Prince Jake?  Tobias?-

He was alone in an unknown area, one moment in his scoop preparing for sleep and now somewhere in a human settlement.  Being half-morphed was not acceptable.

“Xande… ooooh my gosh.”

A pair of stalk-eyes grew back into place on his skull, swiveling to look at the human girl who’d run up behind him.

Instinct made him bring his tailblade around to smack the flat against her head and knock her out.

He jumped when it sailed right through her.

Willow was glad, for the first time that night; she’d worn that ghost sheet.

* * *

 

“Sooooo, I’m stuck?”

“Look at it this way, your science grades are going to skyrocket!”

Xander gave her a slightly sad smile, the one that reminded her of a kicked puppy.

“Human for two hours at a time.  This is going to take a little work.”

“Well Xander, you could train that new blade of yours and become quite the foe during patrols.”

Giles was rubbing his glasses, proving that he wasn’t as calm as he sounded, but the words had the desired effect.

Xander’s expression lightened and he ran off with a wave, muttering about … _shorms_ …or something.

Giles polished his glasses harder.

* * *

 

CRACK!

Buffy spun as the vampire that had been sneaking up on her dissolved into dust.

“Thanks, Xan!”

“No problem, Buff!”

He was blue, literally, and fuzzy, had that tail and those weird extra eyes…..

CRACK!

The last vamp was dust as Xander over shot and stumbled, looking like a baby horse on its first legs.

“Come on, I’ll get you a post-slayage cinnamon roll.”

Next to her Xander practically pranced at the mention of one of his two favorite treats.

Yup, he was still her Xander-shaped friend.


	4. White Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ch 3L Aximili Esgarouth Isthill from Animorphs

This day was just going to suck in a slayer-basket.  Buffy had managed to cause an explosion in a class she didn’t even take with him, getting chemicals all over.  Including him.

He’d been hearing jibes about his new ‘blonde patch’ all day.  He could be grateful that it was just that one spot that was hit, unlike that football player’s eyes, but still!

And then he’d been roped into that trick-or-treat trash by the troll.

Finally, he couldn’t even go as a soldier since a kid grabbed the last gun.

Now what was he going to do!?

Just as he was about to stomp out in disgust he spotted a fake katana at the bottom of the bin, near the back.  Under it was a black Asian dragon tattoo.  Suddenly his eyes lit up.  If they just had… yes, yes they did!  A few bandages, spike his hair up and that black jacket in the back of his closet …. he could make this work!

“Hey Buff, do you happen to have that little tube of hair gel?  Got my costume and I forgot to get it earlier.”

The slayer huffed and dug it out of her purse before going back to gushing over the gown.

He’d let that slide, he had a costume!

* * *

 

-Fox?-

Getting no answer the black clothed figure huffed and took in his surroundings.

“Xander!?”

He turned, eyeing the spirit in front of him and decided he really didn’t want to know how she died.

“I am not Xander.”

He went to walk away when what she was muttering to herself registered.

“Oh my gosh we’ve been turned into our costumes.”

“Onna, what did you say?”

Willow gulped and started to tell him what happened.

Across town, one particular chaos mage started to get very, very nervous.

* * *

 

Graduation Day:

Xander grinned as the mayor’s Ascension started.  Willow and Buffy quickly urged the parents and teachers to flee, locking the doors behind them.  But not before the mayor managed to grab and eat a rather trollish principal.

Xander and his resident both found that oddly amusing and highly gratifying.

Now he stood, one teenage boy with weird hair facing a 60 foot snake, looking like the world had just handed him the largest box of Twinkies ever.

The look of confusion on the reptilian face was great.

“Hiya Mayor.  Bet you’re wondering where your army of vamps is, huh?  Well, we had a bit of a disagreement.  Really, you should work with more intelligent people.”

The giant snake hissed and turned towards the boy.  He had planned this day carefully for over a century, how had this boy foiled it?

“And here’s another thing, mayor, dragon trumps snake.”

With that he leapt into the air, well over the reach of the snake as the bandages fell from his arm.

The transformed mayor watched as black flames leapt at him and only had time to regret letting him live before that Halloween before he was burnt to less than ash.


	5. Dreams and Honor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ch 4L Hiei jangashi from Yu Yu Hakusho

Xander was racking his brains, trying to think up what he could make out of a pair of black cargo pants, black boots, and an old turtleneck sweater.  The camo army pants he’d been going to use were useless thanks to his drunken father and there weren’t any toy guns left by the time he’d made it to the costume shop.  The pants, turtleneck and boots were his last resort.

At the bottom of the bargain bin a bit of white caught his eye.

There were two angel wings, different sets, both for the right side.  Slowly an idea began to form.  He could use a chunk of that cardboard box in the basement and some foil, grab the suspenders from the back of his closet, comb his hair down, and….

“Hey sir?”

The shop owner spun around to look at him.

“Do you happen to have any pale blue contacts?”

* * *

 

“Xander!  Don’t kill them!”

He spun on the spot, huge sword balanced easily in his hands.  The girl looked young but why was she transparent?

“My name isn’t Xander, miss.  And they’re monsters.”

“No!  They’re little kids who got turned into their costumes!  And what do you mean….?  Oh no, you got changed into your costume too.”

The SOLDIER listened as she explained and followed after her as she ran through town.  He was casting Sleepel left and right.  Thankfully it worked.

* * *

 

Xander walked down the hallway after school ended for the day.  He stood straighter now and seemed weighed down at the same time.

He remembered everything from the First Class.  The experiments, the pain, the unrelenting _guilt_.  Memories were brightened by the thought of his student, growing from boy to man and becoming a true SOLDIER in his own right.

Reaching the library he greeted everyone, now dark blue eyes doing a scan, making sure everyone was alright.  Walking over to the weapons cage he pulled out his belt and harness, the giant sword easily resting on his back.

As he turned to retie a shoelace he caught Giles’ expression, caught somewhere between pride and sorrow.  A small smile and a nod later and he was heading out the door.  Buffy never patrolled alone anymore.

Xander remembered a man who believed in pride, and honor, and dreams.  Now glowing eyes turned skyward as wings manifested and stretched.

Few would ever really understand just how important dreams and honor were.

So much lost but waiting there to be regained. Dreams gave life a purpose, a direction.   Honor gave value to the actions towards that purpose.   He understood now. 

And he would not let a good man’s dreams die.

He couldn’t help the man, the warrior, the brother, the **hero** , much as he wished he could.  His story was already written.  But his wasn’t and he could embrace the honor and the dreams and make sure that someday, another student would pick up the mantle and continue the dream. 

Smiling he stretched his wings…

And flew.


	6. Slagging Glitch!

**CH 5 Costume:** Angeal Hewley from Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core  
  
  
Xander blinked as he spotted the vest lying on top of the last toy gun. Curiosity made him pick it up, flipping it over to inspect it.  
  
"Ah, the Ranger vest."  
  
"GAH! Don't do that!"  
  
One hand was over the teen's heart, the other still clutching the vest.  
  
"Sorry, thought you heard me."  
  
"No problem, just a little jumpy with the girls here."  
  
Quirking an eyebrow the man turned and saw the two females twittering over the gown, and winced.  
  
"Ah, understood. Tell you what, I need to get rid of that vest and you, it appears, need to get out of here. How about the vest and the gun for two dollars?"  
  
Grinning, Xander happily handed over the cash before leaving, idly making note that the name on the vest started with 'L E N'.

* * *

  
"Fragging son of a glitch!"  
  
The Army Ranger ducked behind a telephone pole as one of the little monsters ran past.  
  
"First giant scorpions, then robots, now monsters?"  
  
"Xander!"  
  
Acting on instinct he swung around, bringing his gun up to bare on the target…  
  
And nearly passed out when it went right through her.  
  
"Slag, I need a raise."

* * *

  
  
Xander walked down the street, determinedly not noticing the black GMC pickup following him. It had been two weeks since Halloween and now he knew more that he wished he could forget.  
  
Wasn't dropping the Hellmouth on someone's head enough!?  
  
"Hey, kid."  
  
Sighing he stopped and finally turned to face the truck.  
  
"One, my name is Xander, two, even you might attract attention in this town with no driver and three, you'd better have some cash on you so I can eat something while we have the 'talk' you're so obviously wanting to have with me."  
  
The truck's brake's screeched a bit as they slammed on. In the driver's seat a figure suddenly materialized.  
  
"Even with what Will told me, I expected you to be more surprised."  
  
"Sorry, trigger-happy, you missed that mark by a few months."  
  
This was going to be a looooooong talk.  
  
Why couldn't Big Bot have handled this one?


	7. From the Green

**CH 6 Costume:** Captain Will Lennox from Transformers

* * *

  
  
"This sucks!"  
  
"Major with the suckage."  
  
"First he corals us and then makes us get costumes from children's movies? That… that…. that meany-pants!"  
  
The little troll had cornered them in Giles' office and forced them to sign up to take trick-or-treaters and then made them pull a lot from a hat for a movie. It was supposedly to guarantee their choices were appropriate.  
  
Yeah, right.  
  
Xander had been thinking the whole way to the store. Party Town was sold out so they were all praying that Ethan's would have something suitable from the movie. Granted his costume was relatively easy, but he wasn't about to abandon his girls.  
  
Looking at one outfit he winced.  
  
Especially not when that was supposed to be an option!

* * *

  
  
"What the? Maggie?"  
  
"Zak, what happened?"  
  
She looked around, feeling the evil that seemed to pulse up from the ground in waves, almost overwhelming her before she steadied herself.  
  
"I don't know. Where's Crysta?"  
  
At the sound of a shriek they both took off, one literally, towards the noise.

* * *

  
  
"Well that was fun of the kind which is not!"  
  
The three of them had gotten stuck. Ethan found out they knew Giles and gave them 'special' costumes. Xander sighed and blew a tuft of now blonde and black streaked hair out of his eyes while looking at his girls.  
  
Willow…. Well for Willow this might have actually been a good thing.  
  
He looked at her sitting by the aisles, looking more content than she ever had. There was a sense of peace to her as well as a will of solid steel if you screwed with one of her friends. Giles said she'd apparently had some untrained potential for earth magic that rooted to the spell and gave it a major boost.  
  
End result, Mama Earth Willow.  
  
Some of the things she could do with plants were just plain scary. But hey, the library fern was flourishing!  
  
He adjusted his back, wanting to curse Ethan for the suggestion. Apparently there'd been a sequel planned where Zak got turned into a fairy too.  
  
He looked at his new additions and sighed. At least they didn't look girly, wasp-y, but not girly.  
  
But poor Buffy.  
  
The bright blue spec flitted about in the sunshine. Buffy, dressing as Crysta, had retained the small size.  
  
"I'm sorry Buffy, but I can't do anything about it! You've got too much of your own oomph for me to change you safely and not enough training to do it on your own. You're stuck until you can get the magics down."  
  
Willow looked truly sad about that.  
  
"How am I supposed to Slay now!?"  
  
"Make a tree stab them for you."  
  
Xander's head slowly rose to meet the surprised gazes of his friends.  
  
"What?"  
  
The little blue light that was Buffy seemed to still for a moment before turning an electric color and seeming to radiate unholy glee.


	8. Old Friends

**CH 7 Costume:** Zak from Fern Gully

* * *

  
  
Xander grinned as he rooted through the bin and found what he wanted. Dusting off the wide-brimmed hat he tucked it under his arm with his other find, a great duster.  
  
Soldier was not in the cards, so be it.  
  
Wasn't it so much better to be one of the first Secret Service agents?  
  
Grinning as he took his bag and thanks the proprietor he didn't notice the initials on the gun with his other two items. The ones that had a childish scrawl in "H. F." and a more adult hand had carved "T.S." right next to them.

* * *

  
  
"Xander?"  
  
"Agent Sawyer, ma'am. And what in the Sam Hill is going on here?"  
  
He'd seen some pretty fantastic things in his life, especially considering his friends, or didn't see in Skinner's case, but this town was just insane!  
  
"Oh no, you got turned into your costume."  
  
The agent's eyebrows vanished under his hat.  
  
"'Beg pardon?"

* * *

  
  
Many years later:  
  
"I am sorry sir, but Alexander is out on assignment in Africa at the moment."  
  
It had taken many years and even more hurdles to get the New Watcher's Council up and running smoothly. Thankfully it had happened, and in no small part to the work of Xander. He'd found almost every girl from the Dark Continent, trained them, protected them and sent them to the main branch when they no longer needed him. He'd left almost as many broken hearts as he had happy, healthy girls.  
  
"Ah, too bad then. If you'll pardon me, I can be contacted at that number when he gets back. Just tell him that a friend of Huck's wanted to talk to him about a rifle."  
  
"Of course sir. I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you."  
  
Giles watched as the elderly, but still dangerous man gathered his coat and hat, gave him a nod and turned to exit the room.  
  
Both of them were shocked to see the one-eyed carpenter leaning casually against the door frame with a smirk on his lips. Giles started polishing his glasses on reflex.  
  
Boy had gotten far too sneaky in Africa.  
  
Both men were silent for a moment before a slow grin stretched across the man's face. Xander gave a small nod, his own smile widening.  
  
"Tom."  
  
The smile on the man's face seemed to take away years. Just how old was he?  
  
"Huck."  
  
"Oh dear lord."  
  
The men both started laughing as the Watcher polished a new crack in his lenses.  
  
Bloody reincarnation.


	9. Listen to Teacher

**CH 8 Costume:** Tom Sawyer from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

* * *

  
  
Xander growled, pulling clothes from his closet looking for the old cargos and black shirt. A green vest was already on the bed with his two dollar find from Ethan's.  
  
The troll wanted everyone to dress as teachers? Fine. He'd dress as a teacher.  
  
The troll would regret leaving the loophole about them having to be real.  
  
Now where were his sandals?

* * *

  
  
Crack!  
  
"Ah!"  
  
"Tell me how to break the jutsu you placed on the children."  
  
"It'll break at dawn on its own!"  
  
"NOT GOOD ENOUGH! TELL ME HOW TO BREAK THE JUTSU YOU PLACED ON THE CHILDREN!" The last of the teacher's legendary patience was well and truly gone.  
  
"The bust! Break the bust!"  
  
Disgusted with the man a swift blow knocked him out as a kunai flew and knocked the bust from the pedestal.

* * *

  
  
"Hey Buffy! Try, whoops, one sec!"  
  
A quick kick and a spin later and three more vamps were dust.  
  
"Right, try kicking three degrees further to your left next time you try that flip move."  
  
"Got it Xander!"  
  
Grinning she spun back into the fray. At first she'd been a bit doubtful about how useful any teacher could be in an actual fight. He had given her a smile, walked out and returned two hours later with a video.  
  
That fixed any doubts she had.  
  
Since then he'd been helping her with her forms, correcting little things that Giles missed, helping perfect what was already there.  
  
And he was so much more fun to spar with now!  
  
The next vampire set himself for her new favorite flip move. She watched, grinning gleefully as the vampire flew twice the distance as the last time.  
  
"Nice one, Buff!"  
  
The Slayer grinned back at her new teacher/friend as he smiled and rubbed the new scar across his nose in embarassment.  
  
Her eyes roved over Xander when he wasn't looking.  
  
Who knew that being a Xander-shaped comic geek of a friend could pay off so well!?  
  
Or look so good?


	10. Bright Spark

**CH 9 Costume:** Iruka Umino from Naruto

* * *

  
  
"Damnit."  
  
There went the last kid with the last gun.  
  
Figured.  
  
What could he go as now?  
  
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a bit of bright yellow against the back wall, mostly hidden behind other costumes. A little investigation turned up a not-so-bad idea provided he modified it a little and haggled with the proprietor.  
  
Two dollars and a bottle of paint later, Xander was the proud owner of one to-be-kick-ass costume.

* * *

  
  
It was the day after Halloween and Xander was far from his girls and Giles.  
  
He didn't know why, but he had retained just about everything from his costume the night before. Everything, save the neck wound that had stolen his voice.  
  
His head was tilted down, resting on the steering wheel, tears running down his face. It was the only way he could cry any more.  
  
The seemingly endless time in space, the war, all the friends lost.  
  
And he had thought that loosing Jesse was the worst he could ever feel.  
  
This being had lost his Jesse so many times!  
  
His nightmares would be filled with a maniacal face, leering at him as his hand went into his neck, puling and twisting until he couldn't even scream. Pain following every time he reflexively tried to make any sound from then on. How could he stand it?  
  
And then one of the most recent memories, a huge battle, buildings torn down by fighting titans, humans swatted aside like insects, his legs… good God his legs!  
  
And then, his teacher-friend-brother distracting that same maniacal behemoth that stole his voice, just to give them the few seconds they needed, brutally gripped and torn apart.  
  
He thought he'd die from the pain of that memory.  
  
If anyone could understand the pain of losing Jesse, this one being could without a doubt.  
  
Young but battle weary, coddled but sacrificed, ignored but vital, he was a brother in every way but blood.  
  
And someday, he'd find a way to tell him, and thank him.  
  
After all, it wasn't like he didn't have time to work on the tech.  
  
The figure in the car flickered and vanished, and there was a musical hum as parts separated and rearranged until a tall robot stood in its place. Xander turned his head, looking to the stars. He found peace with them all his life, even more so now.  
  
A bit of concentrating and the colors shifted from bright yellow to a dark silver like gunmetal. The features were mostly the same, but he'd arrange a bit of detailing in the near future. He wanted two things added to the sides of his alt.  
  
Another hum and the camero, gunmetal with bright silver racing stripes, was back, rolling down the streets towards the library. He wondered if he could somehow get himself 'stolen' by Spike and have a little fun teaching him some manners.


	11. Oh So Double

**CH 10 Costume:** Bumblebee from Transformers  
  
AN: This is a Dawn Summers Special! I played with the timeline to make Dawn available for Halloween. These two are far too much fun not to pair up at least once. Don't like, don't read.

* * *

  
  
"Dawn, are you sure about this?"  
  
"Yup! The books were great, you'd love them. Besides we're going as original characters, nothing from the actual books."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yup!"  
  
The young Summers girl was bouncing around as Xander followed dutifully to Ethan's for the last few items Dawn insisted they needed.  
  
He really was too much of a sucker for baby-doe-eyes.  
  
"I'm going as the elfish Rider, Dawn, and you'll be the dragon, Oros. Big, powerful dragon with a ton of magic and a really neat scale pattern." She had spent an entire art class creating her dragon before being given the go ahead to paint it. Oros had ended up with white scales with silver horns and claws a sort of rainbow sheen to him. It should have looked girly, but it didn't.  
  
"Uh huh, and I'm going to pull this off how?"  
  
"Easy, white shirt and some white and silver face paint for scales. The pair has been around so long that they figured out a way for Oros to look like a human."  
  
"Dawnie?"  
  
"Yeah Xander?"  
  
"You have spent way too much time thinking about this."  
  
He ignored her fake pout and tucked her against his side. He could humor her. Her ideas, though wild, generally came out ok in the costume department. She'd gotten a lot better with those face paints over the years.  
  
Besides, it had to beat going as a soldier again.  
  


* * *

  
"Dawn! I thought you were staying home tonight!"  
  
Buffy huffed, crossing her arms under her even-flatter-than-usual chest as she stared at her younger sister clad in a green cape over brown leggings and boots and a darker green tunic. She really didn't want to admit that Dawn looked better than she did.  
  
"No, you yelled that I was staying home and ran out the door to meet up with Willow. Mom said I could go so long as someone agreed to take me in their group."  
  
"Well I know Willow didn't."  
  
"You're right she didn't."  
  
"So who.."  
  
"Hey, Dawn-patrol."  
  
Buffy stopped and looked at the figure that walked up. No way could that be Xander!  
  
"Hi Xander! Any last minute problems?"  
  
"Nope, you were right. After the bits of paint, it was just throw on the shirt and belt and instant costume."  
  
There were bits of shimmer at the sides of his face and around his eyes where Dawn had painted on white and silver scales. When he moved his arms more of those same scales showed up on either side of his neck as well as the back of his hands. He had black jeans and boots with a white tunic, tied off with a black belt that obviously could have held a sword. One last detail was the contacts. The usually warm brown eyes were now a rather eerie, but pretty, shade of pale silver.  
  
Buffy made a note to take a closer look at Xander later.  
  
The troll called and they were off.

* * *

  
  
Dawn stood still in the middle of the library the night after Halloween and rolled her eyes at the other two girls. Willow had been asked on a date, go figure. She'd just had to die to get noticed. That part, was rather big with the suckage.  
  
Buffy was grinning and laughing about how she was so going to ace her next French test.  
  
Dawn sighed and rolled her eyes again. She was so glad she wasn't blonde.  
  
"Dawn? Did you retain anything from your possession?"  
  
Grinning a bit she nodded and turned towards a metal bowl that Giles usually used for spells, now filled with a few tossed scraps of paper.  
  
"Brisingr!"  
  
With a hand gesture the pile of papers caught alight and quickly burnt to ash.  
  
"Good lord."  
  
-Hey Dawnie, how'd they take it?-  
  
-Giles is rubbing his glasses to pieces, Willow is squealing and listing research and Buffy is doing a really good impersonation of a stunned goldfish.-  
  
She sent over a mental image and got a hearty laugh back.  
  
-Bravo Dawn-patrol, I give you a solid ten.-  
  
-Wait until they see you.-  
  
-Oh yes, this should be fun. Watch closely, I want to compare images later.-  
  
-Of course.-  
  
-So, puppy or spitting fire?-  
  
-Hmm, hard tossup. Do the puppy, there's a chance for an 'aw' moment and less likely Buffy will hurt herself bouncing off your side.-  
  
-Yeah, I hate buffing out those scuffs. Ready when you are.-  
  
Snickering quietly Dawn motioned the group to follow her outside.  
  
Where a big white dragon was curled up like a cat, perking up at seeing them coming, tail wagging with hopelessly cute puppy-eyes.  
  
Less than a second later there was a soft thump to Dawn's right.  
  
-We trouble?-  
  
-So double.-  
  
The bad guys on the Hellmouth wouldn't know what hit them.


	12. Shocking

**CH 11 Costume:** Dawn Special: Original Characters From the Inheritance Series  
  
AN: I don't know about you, but I sure had fun with that one. And I'm thinking of writing 31 Aftermaths. Could be interesting, no? Enjoy! INCOMING!

* * *

  
  
"Hey Wills, any ideas?"  
  
"Umm, give me a mo."  
  
If the teen noticed the ghost sheet box tucked under her arm he discretely ignored it. Buffy's fault for loosing concentration with that overly gaudy gown.  
  
"Oh!' Smiling she picked up a white helmet with a green visor over the face.  
  
It took a moment, but when the character reference clicked his grin was huge.  
  
Plus the helmet was on clearance for two bucks. Since he had the rest of the stuff he'd need for the costume he was good to go.  
  
He restrained himself from doing the Snoopy dance in public but from Willow's giggle, she knew he was doing it in his head anyway.  
  
If it made her smile, it was of the good.

* * *

  
  
"Xander?"  
  
"Ma'am, my name isn't Xander."  
  
What had happened here!? It looked like the Big Bang and the meta-freaks had all gone off at once! And where was Static that he couldn't raise him on the shock box?  
  
Giving the girl a nod he started to skate away when he heard a yell that nearly shocked the roller blades off him.  
  
"RICHARD OSGOOD FOLEY!"  
  
He stopped so fast that he ended up flat on the ground.  
  
"How the heck do you know my name?"  
  
The girl glared, crossed her arms over her chest and started tapping her foot like an upset teacher. Though from her, it was actually guilt inducing.  
  
And he hadn't even done anything yet!  
  
"Listen here, Richie, you are borrowing my best friend's body and if you do anything to damage it, or use it to hurt those kids who got turned into their costumes, I'm going to take a shovel introduce it to your face, and then I'm gonna get creative!"  
  
Shrinking back a little bit Richie thought he'd rather go up against Ebon again than this woman on the warpath. Even though it was obvious she wasn't corporal (a little kid had run through her) he really didn't want to see if she could figure out how to follow through with her threat.  
  
And why did he want to call that expression ResolveFace?

* * *

  
  
The old garage on the outskirts of Sunnydale had turned out to be a boon. Plenty of equipment to mess with, tons of new things to repair and improve and now that he'd been coming here and considering it his own it was vamp proof!  
  
He was still keeping Sparky though. The robo-dog was great for fetching the tools he needed mid-project.  
  
One last adjustment and….  
  
The device in his hand clittered and chirped before the screen burst into static and slowly cleared into an image. Xander could clearly see the inside of what looked like an abandoned gas station that had obviously seen a few visitors lately.  
  
Now he just had to wait until he showed up.  
  
Surprisingly it came quickly.  
  
"Hiya Richie."  
  
The figure had obviously not seen the miniature wormhole and walked right past it. Until Xander spoke up that is.  
  
He really needed to stop tripping over himself when he got shocked.  
  
"What the heck? Who are you!?"  
  
"Name's Xander, Richie. Think back, Halloween, weird dreams…. that weren't dreams."  
  
The blonde went wide-eyed and jerked back, falling out of his chair.  
  
He was beginning to suspect a trend here.  
  
"Yo, Richie! You ok?"  
  
"He's fine, just shocked."  
  
"AHH!"  
  
"I'm getting that a lot today."  
  
"Who the heck are you!?"  
  
"Ask Rich."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Oh boy."  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Umm, is this geek speak again?"  
  
"Virg, he's in another dimension."  
  
"Wha wha wha?"  
  
"Man, hope Wills doesn't learn that one."  
  
"Hey, wait up. You're that guy from the TV show. Buffy the Vampire….. something or other."  
  
"What!?"  
  
That shocked Xander out of his chair.  
  
"What do you mean TV show!?"  
  
"You're Xander, right? Friends with Willow, Buffy and Giles and all that?"  
  
"Virg, anything I should know?"  
  
Realizing that the show he was talking about wasn't really one he'd ever watched he shrugged.  
  
"Sharon likes the show, thinks he's cute or something."  
  
Richie and Xander both winced.  
  
"Ouch."  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Sooooo, how'd this happen? Cuz I know you weren't this techno-smart on the show, that was Willow's thing."  
  
Xander and Richie shared a look.  
  
""Halloween.""  
  
Virgil's eyes went wide.  
  
"Dang."  
  
And that explained everything.


	13. Golden Eyes

**CH 12 Costume:** Gear from Static Shock

* * *

  
  
Xander sighed as he got on his costume. Anything for Willow.  
  
And she dang well knew it.  
  
At least this wasn't too terrible. A long black robe that looked a bit shabby, probably borrowed from Giles, a holster on his arm with a fancy stick that Willow had asked him to carve and a little make up and powder to the hair.  
  
Instant wizard.  
  
Well, at least this beat going as a soldier. He knew there were a few of those around.  
  
Besides, this guaranteed she'd be going as something other than a ghost!

* * *

  
  
"What in Merlin's name?"  
  
"Xander!"  
  
"Lily!? What in the blue blazes are you doing here!? I though you and James moved on!"  
  
"What? Xander, it's me, Willow!"  
  
Slowly the ghost's face morphed from conused hurt to shocked understanding.  
  
"Oh no, we've been turned into our costumes."  
  
Startled the man turned and looked at the crowd of small monsters, feeling for magic. He could sense it, and it didn't belong to any of the creatures here.  
  
And from what the woman, Willow, was saying, they were children.  
  
The growl that rose from his throat had many of the small beasts deciding to hunt elsewhere quickly.

* * *

  
  
"So, you're Veruca. And you've been trying to get Willow, kill her if you can, and then take her guy."  
  
"Yeah, so what? He's a wolf he should be running with a wolf, not a stupid little flower-girl!"  
  
Xander's eyes glowed bright gold as he shifted. The form wasn't pure wolf. The Hyena had seen to that. Rather it was huge, canine and at the moment severely pissed off.  
  
The female wolf shifted and tried to fight. It was a short tussle with her on her back under him, bleeding badly and whimpering, belly offered in submission.  
  
The thing-that-had-been-Xander snarled, lips pulled back showing off inch long fangs. This one would never be trusted. This one was not going to live to contaminate and hurt his pack.  
  
A yelp and a bite later it was over.  
  
The thing-that-had-been-Xander stalked off to find a place to calm down. A little concentration and the blood and gore from the fight was gone. It wouldn't do to upset the girls. With a howl he loped into the woods.  
  
No one threatened his girls.  
  
And NO ONE tried to hurt his Willow.


	14. Kitty Green

**CH 13 Costume:** Remus Lupin from Harry Potter

* * *

  
  
"Uuuuuhhhhh, Xander?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Who are you supposed to be?"  
  
"Dawn picked."  
  
"Lost a bet?"  
  
"….."  
  
"New Scooby rule, no betting against the mini-terror."  
  
Said terror came bouncing down the stairs in her own get up of a fitted woman's suit with a shoulder holster and fake Browning. The black curly wig looked a bit odd but then again, he was wearing a blonde one and had green contacts in.  
  
At least she hadn't made him dress up like that one character. No one would have seen him until graduation, end of story!  
  
He was NOT going to be seen in public with a long auburn wig and skin tight leather straps.  
  
Eww!

* * *

  
  
"Xander!?"  
  
"My name isn't Xander ma'am. Who are you? And what's going on?"  
  
Bright kitty-green eyes watched the mayhem, unsure as to whether he should shift. He couldn't feel any of his pard, or Anita. It took him a moment to realize the girl, ghost he realized, was muttering something about costumes.  
  
"All right, explain to me while we run. For now…"  
  
Willow couldn't help but gasp as the small but well built man became a much bigger, much stronger looking cat-man.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
She wasn't going to argue.

* * *

  
  
Three sets of eyes watched the scene in complete and utter disbelief.  
  
Crouched on one of the stools was Cordelia, smiling and talking baby-talk to a half leopard creature that seemed perfectly happy to stay lounged out by her feet and let her lavish attention on his ears and back.  
  
"Xa-Xa-Xa-Xander?"  
  
"Huh? Yeah Wills?"  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Right now? Embracing the kitty. Man this feels good."  
  
Cordelia had slowed down with the scratching behind his ears when she finally noticed the group. A motorcycle-worthy purr and a gentle rub against her hand and all was well in kitty-ville. Xander resembled nothing so much as a large pile of fluffy black kitty-goo.  
  
Willow watched the two for a minute, blinked, and finally sighed.  
  
"If you can't beat them…"  
  
She walked over to the pair, plopped down on Xander's other side and started scratching along his side and back.  
  
Xander's purr put hotrods to shame. Grinning goofily and more than happy to stay put he came to an important conclusion.  
  
Ear-scritchies were better than Twinkies any day.  
  
The kitty-green eyes were pretty cool, too.


	15. Sparkly

**CH 14 Costume:** Micah Callihan from Anita Blake

* * *

  
  
Xander grumbled as he tried to find contacts the right color.  
  
Why, of all things, did Buffy and Willow have to go all fan-girl over a book series about vampires!?  
  
They fought the things every freaking night! Wasn't that enough!?  
  
At least with how ticked he was he'd have the facial expression down pat for the night.

* * *

  
He fell to his knees, overwhelmed by the shift in location, the throb of magic, and the confused minds of dozens of creatures.  
  
Slowly, painfully, he managed to push his walls back up as he tried to understand the girl who was babbling at him. The story was fantastic, unbelievable, totally crazy…  
  
And he believed every word, he could feel the truth behind them with his gift.  
  
Reddish-gold eyes surveyed the scene before he took off running.  
  
This needed to end.

* * *

  
  
Xander sat in a shadowed corner of the library, glaring at the two girls.  
  
He was seriously pissed.  
  
They'd bullied him into wearing the danged costume, managed to get him cursed and turned into said costume, and now he was stuck with leftovers thanks to Giles' old running buddy.  
  
Twinkies were off the menu.  
  
He couldn't maintain his own body heat.  
  
His tan was gone and not going to come back.  
  
His eyes were freaky looking.  
  
And he wanted a bag of AB-, dangit!  
  
The girls were apologizing and trying to get him to see the bright side of things. He wanted them to shut up and quit lying to his face. They were freaking happy he was like this! Couldn't they remember one little detail about the character they'd made him dress as? Buffy had threatened him with sparring duty if he hadn't for crying out loud!  
  
Well, she'd be hurting their next match, that was for sure. She'd freaking bounce off him.  
  
Just then Angel came into the library through the doors.  
  
He could tell the moment he'd been spotted.  
  
Angel's body went stiff, and his nostrils flared as he scented the room.  
  
He was the only one who heard Angel's purr when he caught sight of him.  
  
Oh hell no! Brood Boy did not just give him the vamp version of a come on!  
  
Snarling he got to his feet, moving towards a more sun-oriented part of the room. He remembered his type of vamp didn't dust in sunlight.  
  
…..  
  
Reason number a zillion and one to be pissed at the girls, he wasn't just a vamp.  
  
He was a vamp that sparkled!  
  
At least the ticked off snarl and the fist through the weapons cage door got everyone to shut up about it for a bit.


	16. Burning Bright

**CH 15 Costume:** Jasper Cullen from Twilight

* * *

  
  
Howwashegoingtodothis?Howwashegoingtodothis?Howwashegoingtodothis?  
  
How was he going to do this?  
  
How….  
  
Hold that thought.  
  
Against the wall was a slightly battered make-up set. Red skin dye (temporary, thank Hostess), a spiky red wig, some loose beads, and some face paint crayons in yellow, black and blue.  
  
Xander grinned so wide it had to hurt.  
  
Now he just needed some contacts and to see if they had some wire with a small light at the end, a tiny fan maybe a scrap of blue filmy stuff from an Arabian costume.  
  
Not quite the two dollars he'd been planning, but dang was this going to be great.

* * *

  
  
"Oh my goodness, Xander?"  
  
Xander grinned, showing off the fake fangs he'd put on his canine teeth. The effect was rather stunning. He stood in dark red cargo pants and a matching wife beater. His skin had been colored to match the clothes with red and blue markings here and there. Over his right eye was a stylized scar and his hands were tipped with black claw-nails. His hair was spiky, dark red tipped with blue, beads woven in and out. Probably the most astounding thing was the tail he was wearing, tip pointed up and glowing as the fake blue flame fluttered.  
  
"Hi Mrs. S. You like?"  
  
"I don't know what you are, but it's certainly impressive."  
  
She was treated to one of Xander's real smiles before Buffy started making her way down the stairs.  
  


* * *

  
Ok, being stuck as some sort of cat creature kinda sucked at first. Now though, he was really enjoying it. He could change from bipedal to quadrupedal as he wanted. He knew what those words meant now. The speed, the agility…  
  
The magic.  
  
He really needed to see if there was a way for him to talk to his counterpart some day. Instincts said he should. He'd learned they were spot on nearly all the time. Couldn't hurt to try.  
  
Later though.  
  
He grinned a fang-filled grin as Spike started taunting him and Drusilla started cooing about her Kitten.  
  
He was getting sick of the she-vamp and the bleached wonder.  
  
Might be time to end this.  
  
"Ya know, I used to be scared of you. Now, not so much. I mean, yeah, you're a predator. So am I. Supernatural creature, well just a heck of an evolved creature on this end. But ya know what I love, blood-breath?"  
  
"Do tell kitty before we drink you dry and use your hide for my dark princess' new corset."  
  
The beads in his mane started to glow as he concentrated and let loose a deafening roar, sending a series of small comets crashing into the vampires. They didn't have time to do more than flinch before they were dust.  
  
"This kitty is smokin' hot!"  
  
Giles would want to know his vamp count for the patrol. Turning he started trotting back towards the library, the flame on his tail glowing merrily in the night.


	17. Eye in the Sky

**CH 16 Costume:** Red XIII aka Nanaki from Final Fantasy VII  
  


* * *

  
Xander was a genius.  
  
At least in his present opinion.  
  
The army pants he'd been going to wear were ruined thanks to a drunken father, and there were no more toy guns left anyway.  
  
Then he'd spotted a hawk diving for a mouse outside and had a brilliant flash of insight.  
  
The books had been one of Jesse's favorites. He'd always compared him to Marco, but secretly he'd identified with another one a heck of a lot more. It felt right to do this.  
  
And it would be under two dollars if he did this right.  
  
"Excuse me, sir?"  
  
A man about Giles' age turned around, seeming a bit surprised to have someone actually sneak up on him. Hope he didn't go out at night.  
  
"Do you have any gold contacts, please?"  
  
A dollar seventy five and a promise from Willow to let him borrow her bird plushie and he was good to go.

* * *

  
  
-What the…? Rachel? Ax?-  
  
Wings flapped as he hopped to his feet. Where was he? He'd been flying over the forrest as Ax ran and then…  
  
"Xander!?"  
  
He squawked in surprised when a young woman ran up to him and tried to touch him, only to pass right through.  
  
-What the hell!?-  
  
The woman sighed and looked very put out.  
  
"You have no idea, Bird Boy. If you can take to air and watch for a noble woman getting into trouble, herd her where I'm going, I'll explain later. And before you ask eww no! I am NOT a Controller. Besides, incorporeal here."  
  
Too confused to do much else he followed the babbling woman's instructions.  
  
Why did he have a feeling this would be on par with finding Ax?  
  


* * *

  
He was stuck. The spell had changed him for good, something about mixing deistic powers and magical limits and such. All he knew was that now he could only ever be human for two hours at a time.  
  
The rest of that, he had his wings.  
  
It was really odd what happened. He'd have a full human lifetime, Hellmouth willing, in an inhuman body. He had all the memories of the other boy, the powers and the gifts from Toomin. He could change into whatever animal he could touch, but never more than two hours.  
  
And this time there'd be no second chance.  
  
He'd given thought to just changing back to human and letting his time limit run out.  
  
But he couldn't do it. He could help them like this. None of the baddies seemed to realize how Buffy or Giles or Willow knew where the traps were or how they moved.  
  
He was their eye in the sky.  
  
And right now he had a vamp to humble.  
  
Spike was mocking the Slayer, talking about how great the ring was, how it made him invincible.  
  
His diatribe was drowned out by a screech and then his own scream of pain as the hawk brutally removed his finger.  
  
William the Bloody, Scourge of Europe, Spike, Slayer of Slayers promptly turned him into dust as the hawk flew off, a gold ring glittering in its talons.


	18. Dragon Wings

**CH 17 Costume:** Tobias Fangor from the Animorphs

* * *

  
  
"I hate you."  
  
Xander was grumbling as Buffy fussed over his costume. He'd been perfectly fine going as G I Joe Normal soldier. Buffy had taken one look at the outfit and ripped it to shreds.  
  
Literally.  
  
Now here he was, letting her fuss over him as she adjusted the harness that was hidden under the weird shirt.  
  
He really wished he had the balls to tell her to back off.  
  
Originally he'd asked if she was trying to be funny dressing him up as an angel. There was a voice that was whispering to him that she wished he was her angel with a capital A. he was still scowling when she showed a red ball the size of a softball into his hand and told him it was part of the costume.  
  
When she'd told him he was actually dressed as a prince, it hadn't helped matters.  
  
She jerked at the wing she was attaching and he nearly fell over.  
  
There'd better damn well be Twinkies after this!

* * *

  
  
The young man looked around, wings vanishing in a flurry of white. He could feel the living armor thrumming somewhere nearby, the energist in his hand pulsing brighter as he neared it.  
  
He'd managed to avoid the monsters for the most part. He wasn't sure if it was the energist he was holding or if they could somehow tell he wouldn't go down easily. Hitomi used to tell him that when he was tense he gave off an aura that made anyone not a friend want to back off fast.  
  
He still missed her.  
  
Finally he found his armor behind a rather large building. Hurriedly he clambered in after inserting the energist. The hatch clicked closed and moments later he was in the sky, dragon roaring, clouds at their bellies.  
  
Not two minutes later an incorporeal girl ran past where the armor had been, yelling for her friend.

* * *

  
  
Angelus smiled. The Judge was assembled, he was guaranteed a win no matter what his cranky grand Childer said.  
  
"You've lost, no weapon forged by man can defeat me. I will burn out the humanity in this world." The Judge was assured of his power.  
  
He felt the vaguest sense of worry when the Scoobies just smiled at him.  
  
Then he realized that Xander Harris was not present.  
  
Since Halloween that boy had gained a pair of wings and a set of sword skills to envy.  
  
It had taken him weeks to heal from that back-strike to his rear.  
  
But still, no reason to worry.  
  
Right?  
  
"Oooooh, Kitten is Kitten no more. Kitten played in the Roots of the Tree and dug up the past. Kitten isn't Kitten anymore!"  
  
Druscilla started shaking and rocking in place. William looked worried.  
  
Angelus lost his pleasant edge.  
  
"Then what is he, Childe?"  
  
"Kitten isn't Kitten any more, Kitten has become the Dragon!"  
  
The roof of the mall burst open, a giant suit of armor landing lightly amid the rubble.  
  
"No weapon forged by man? How about an Atlantian?"  
  
The armor shifted and in its place stood a dragon, Xander Harris on its back.  
  
There was no time to run before the remaining Scourge of Europe and the Judge were reduced to ashes by dragon's breath.


	19. Warriors Old and New

**CH 18 Costume:** Van Fanel from Escaflowne

* * *

  
  
Ok the soldier was out.  
  
He could cope. He could deal. He could….  
  
Were those blue contacts in the bargain bin?  
  
He grinned, suddenly coming up with a workable idea.

* * *

  
  
"Hey Xander, who are you supposed to be?"  
  
"A guy, who's very good at going undercover, and seems to have problems staying awake in class."  
  
"I thought you dressed up for Halloween."  
  
"Har har, Buff. Har har."

* * *

  
  
"Umm, guys?"  
  
Xander was nervous. It was rather obvious from the way he was avoiding everyone's eyes and the shuffling of his feet.  
  
"Umm, I remember last night. All of it."  
  
The explosion of noise was expected. He didn't even try to answer any of the babble of questions. Not that he could understand any of them anyway.  
  
The noise abruptly halted with a sharp thwack of metal hitting wood.  
  
Three sets of stunned eyes looked at the small metal blade embedded in one of the shelves.  
  
"And I think it might be useful to make sure I keep remembering it."  
  
The look on Xander's face brooked no argument.

* * *

  
  
~30 years later~  
  
The old car bounced a bit as it traveled down the time-beaten drive way, weeds choking the sides. The man at the wheel smiled. He'd waited a long time for this.  
  
He entered the house silently. It took a few moments before the first expected visitor came. The large black dog growled at him. The man just smiled and held out his hand. A sniff later and the dog was quiet, if a little confused.  
  
"Can you show me where they are, boy?"  
  
The dog cocked its head before turning back towards the house, the man following quietly behind him.  
  
The clock was as he expected, the dog moving past it and down the hidden stairs. The man mae sure to close it behind him.  
  
It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you, after all.  
  
"… I swear! It was insane, there were monsters everywhere! And this girl was talking to me, she passed right through me!"  
  
"Willow's fine. She was put back in her body after the spell ended."  
  
Two men, one young one older than he, turned to regard him warily.  
  
He just smiled, walking into the light so they could see him, one eye twinkling with amusement.  
  
"I take it you had one… Hell, of a Halloween?"  
  
"How did you?"  
  
"My name is Xander. Thank you for helping my friends."  
  
"The one that girl was talking about? But she was my age!"  
  
"And so was I, about 30 years ago. I've been waiting a long time to meet both of you."  
  
"Just a moment. You're Xander, Alexander… Alexander Harris, from the New Watcher's Council, born in Sunnydale California, friend to the Red Witch and the Prime Slayer?"  
  
"Correct. The girls thank you for the clothing fund."  
  
The old man smirked.  
  
The young one was horribly confused.  
  
And the black dog regarded them all with something akin to fond amusement.


	20. Protector

**CH 19 Costume:** Terry McGinnis from Batman Beyond  
  
AN: This is a **Dawn Summers Special**.

* * *

  
  
"Hey Xan, need help with your costume?"  
  
"Nah. I'm good, Dawn-patrol cornered me last month."  
  
~*~Flashback~*~  
  
"Xander!"  
  
Said teen let out a whuff of breath as he was tackled. Dawnie was getting a bit big for the tackle-hugs, nice though they were.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"I can't just be happy to see you?"  
  
"When you're vibrating like you had three mochachinos and I know Buffy's been keeping those to herself?"  
  
"Oh alright, alright. Would you pleeeeeeease let me do your costume for Halloween?"  
  
"What!? Why?"  
  
"I'vehadthisideaforeverandIreallywanttodoitandyou'retheonlyonewhocoulddooneoftheset."  
  
Xander took a token moment to gape.  
  
"You've been hanging out with Will on the frappachinos, haven't you? What's the costume?"  
  
"Ummmm, kinda my take off a popular anime series?"  
  
Dawn winced, realizing that might kill any chance right there.  
  
Instead of screaming, Xander just sighed and rested his head in his palm.  
  
"How bad?"  
  
"For you? Not at all. You'll look great! Not to mention the girls will drool. Uber bishie!"  
  
One solitary eyebrow rose towards his bangs.  
  
"Hey! I mean it, even mom says it looks good!"  
  
"She did?"  
  
Dawn's nod could have put a bobble head to shame.  
  
"Fine."  
  
His ears were still ringing from her shriek an hour later.  
  
And what the heck was a 'bishie'?  
  
~*~End Flashback~*~*~  
  
"So what are you going as?"  
  
"Dunno. Joyce said it looked good and helped make sure everything fit, but apparently I'm not allowed to see until trick-or-treat night."  
  
"Hope you don't regret it."  
  
Xander grinned. If Mrs. S's blush was anything to go by, he was fine.  
  


* * *

  
"Dawn! You look great!"  
  
Willow's voice was a little garbled by the ghost-sheet, but still audible. Buffy turned and had to admit her sister looked cute. Red tai chi like pants were loose and flowy. Her feet were covered by matching red slippers, her top was a bit lighter and edged in white, a little red cape sat around her shoulders. There was a bag at her side with a little pale gold wolf plushie sticking out. Topping off the outfit was a red and gold staff that had a stylized star on top with wings.  
  
Dawn grinned, spinning around once to show off. The cape flared enough to show a deck of cards tucked into a slot on the pouch's strap.  
  
"Wait until you see Xander."  
  
"What about me?"  
  
Willow might as well have been a statue when she caught sight of her best friend.  
  
He looked regal. His suit was a dark blue that was almost indigo lined with silver. On one lapel was a silver moon and on the other a star. Dark gloves poked out from white cuffs, hooking around his middle finger with a tiny silver gem. His feet had similar pieces attached to flipflops that made him look like he was going barefoot. He had allowed Dawn to attach a fake braid after his hair had been pulled loosely back, letting a few curls fall forward. Brown eyes were hidden behind dark blue contacts. What tied it all together were the wings. From his back two enormous wings flared slightly, glittering silver with ebony tips.  
  
"Whoa."  
  
Xander gave them a delighted grin.  
  
"Dawnie, you can dress me up every Halloween if the results are this good."  
  
Buffy and Willow exchanged a look. They were going to corner Xander later for a thorough 'inspection'.  
  
Dawn grinned, tucking herself under his arm as he started walking over to the group of kids he was to lead for the night. He was the object of more than one roaming eye.

* * *

  
  
Xander was quiet as he walked next to the girls. As far as they knew he hadn't retained a thing from Halloween. He was happy to keep it that way.  
  
Dawn had been rather meticulous designing everything, including the background to the façade he wore.  
  
A protector, a guardian, a friend.  
  
He finally felt balanced, at peace with himself. He could step back from his memories and see things more clearly and understand what had and had not been his fault. It was likely he'd never stop missing Jesse but he understood now that it was not his fault he was gone.  
  
That took a great weight off his shoulders.  
  
Dawn came in, sidling up to him and tucking herself against his side. He felt a little bump and a tug at his shirt and knew another little guest was tucking himself into one of his cargo pockets. Xander smiled softly, feeling closer to these two than he had to almost anyone else.  
  
A damp bump against his hand and he looked down to see a little golden wolf head tilted in confusion. He gently pushed it back in the oversized pocket, one finger following to scritch between its white and gold wings. Dawn laughed a little at the happy growl.  
  
"LaVelle approves."  
  
"Why the heck did you pick that name anyway? It seems kinda mean."  
  
"It means 'the wolf'. And it fits."  
  
"I like it."  
  
He couldn't argue that when wolf and girl agreed.  
  
Still smiling he followed the girls around town, Dawn tucked up against his side as if she were his sister.  
  
The others never really noticed that once dark brown eyes were now night-sky blue.  
  
He wasn't just Xander anymore. He was Alexander, Protector of Man, one of the protectors of the Key Holder.  
  
Sun and Moon. Day and Night.  
  
The little wolf poked its nose out again and Xander grinned as he watched Dawn eye one of the element cards from her deck, Fire, thoughtfully.  
  
The protectors shared a grin.  
  
Evil didn't stand a chance.


	21. Blue Zap

**CH 20 Costume:** Dawn Summers Special: Character based on Yue from Card captor Sakura

* * *

  
  
Ok, this was easy.  
  
No soldier outfit? No big deal.  
  
That movie he'd managed to go to with the girls last month was pretty good and it gave him a great idea.  
  
Some roughed up old clothes, a box that he'd painted a bit, and some fake scrapes thanks to a one dollar tube of fake blood.  
  
Looking in the mirror he grinned. Just right, no extras needed, thankyouverymuch. Whistling he grinned as he grabbed the box.  
  
And away he went!

* * *

  
  
"Xander!?"  
  
The boy spun around in place. One moment he'd been running through the streets, dodging bullets and debris and now he was surrounded by monsters with a scantily clad girl calling him Xander. This was so not his day.  
  
And then he noticed her arms passed through him when she tried to grab his arm.  
  
"Oooooh, nonononononono. No, not on top of everything else!"  
  
Willow watched in horrified fascination as he fired off words faster than even her babble could usually accomplish. Then it switched to horrified realization.  
  
"Oh no you've turned into your costume too."  
  
The boy stopped and looked at her with wide eyes. Then he slumped.  
  
"That just figures."  
  
He was about to say something else when a little terror ran into him from behind, knocking him to the ground and jolting the box he held. Willow watched as a flash escaped it and swept over the ground before returning to the boy-who-wasn't-Xander.  
  
When he looked up again his eyes were glowing blue.  
  
"Shit."

* * *

  
  
He really wasn't sure how to approach this. The box was once again just a box. That was of the good.  
  
The bad thing, he wasn't.  
  
He'd woken that morning with a headache to beat a post-sparring headache that Buffy usually left him with after a high kick.  
  
Granted the one time she'd done that while wearing a skirt had been worth it, but still.  
  
Blue eyes watched the sky line. He felt a rather urgent need to do something. What that something was though, he couldn't say.  
  
Sighing he let himself into his Uncle Rory's junkyard. It was a good place to get away from everyone. Even Willow wouldn't bug him out here, knowing if he was here he needed Xander-time.  
  
He felt an odd sadness as he looked over some of the used-to-be-new machines. It was such a waste.  
  
Looking towards the side shed he noticed a motorcycle that someone must had dropped off recently. It was missing its engine, chain and back tire, but you could tell that at some time it had been special to someone. The customized paintjob still shone through some of the dirt covering it.  
  
Wiping off some of the grime he startled as little bits of static jumped between his hand and the frame.  
  
Blue eyes blinked, and everything clicked.  
  
Grinning he placed his hand flat on the side of the bike and let go of the something that had been bugging him all day.  
  
His smile widened as a soft hum started to fill the air along with the clank of metal pieces moving.


	22. Blackbird

**CH 21 Costume:** Sam Witicky from Transformers the Movie

* * *

  
  
Xander grimaced and eyed the bag at his side. Such a harmless looking little thing.  
  
Still, if it kept Buffy from wearing that god-awful gown…  
  
He waited until she answered the door.  
  
"Hey Buff, proposition for ya."

* * *

  
  
Buffy bounced around as she waited for the others, a big grin on her face. She'd told no one that she'd read the manga series and really loved the one character. It was no fun to dress up for it alone though, so she'd just put it in the maybe-later drawer and tried for something else. Then her Xander-shaped friend had shown up with a bag in hand and an offer.  
  
She so owed him Twinkies for this!  
  
Still smiling she fluffed the pink dress into place and made sure the little pendant Xander had made for her was in sight. It was one of her favorite bits of the story line.  
  
Willow had managed to escape her efforts by tossing that ghost thing on top of the outfit, darn it.  
  
"Hiya Buff."  
  
She grinned as she looked over Xander's outfit. Black marks on his shoulders, aviator's goggles on his head and a few feathers in his hair and he actually looked really cute.  
  
She'd have to remember that later.

* * *

  
  
"Xander!?"  
  
"Huh? Who's that?"  
  
"Oh no, you've turned into your costume!"  
  
The boy raised an eyebrow, looking confused.  
  
"Quick, we have to find Buffy! She was dressed like your friend!"  
  
"Oh, then it'll be easy."  
  
"It will?"  
  
The girl stared at him a moment until an ear-shattering shriek sounded from a few blocks away.  
  
The glass in all the windows nearby was blown out by the sound. Above the wreckage hovered a small figure with big bat wings.  
  
"Yup. Easy!"  
  
Grinning he let his wings out and took off towards where his friend was.  
  
The ghost hurried along after him.

* * *

  
  
Xander grinned, munching on an apple. He used to love Twinkies, but lately apples just suited him more.  
  
Less likely to cause stomach upset with turbulence.  
  
Buffy was freaked out at first. Her new additions weren't exactly 'cute' by her definition even if he thought she pulled them off nicely. The black marks on her back would have gotten her in trouble with her mother too, if they weren't hidden by her clothing. Of course the first time she'd screamed at a demon she decided the results were good.  
  
The demon's head had exploded rather impressively.  
  
Eww.  
  
Anyway, the sun was shining, Buffy was happy, Willow got a date with a decent enough guy.  
  
Things were going very well. He decided to run with it.  
  
Still grinning he tossed the apple core into a nearby bin and let his wings out.  
  
It was a good day to fly.


	23. Beasts and More

**CH 22 Costume:** Cooro from +Anima

* * *

  
  
Xander took the paper from a pale Buffy. Snyder had high jacked them in the library and forced them not only to sign up to take out trick-or-treaters for Halloween, but made them pull out a lot for their costumes. The lots all had a preapproved, child-friendly cartoon on them.  
  
He was such a dickhead.  
  
His mind wandered as he thought of the possibilities for costumes while Buffy started to rant about plastic and helmets.  
  
"I can make this work."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Really, Xander?"  
  
"Yeah. We won't look bad. Just gotta get some stuff. Wills, you got a pen and paper?"  
  
He jotted down a list of what each of them would need. Buffy might not be that thrilled until he managed to find a picture for her of the character, but being a kick-ass battler he didn't think it'd take too much to convince her. Willow would be happy that she was covered and comfy.  
  
He needed to go and find some yellow and purple paint.

* * *

  
  
"I saw your lot! This is not form the preapproved show!"  
  
Buffy looked ready to slay the troll (they were demons, right?) and Willow wanted to shrink into herself. Their costumes had turned out really well thanks to the images Xander got them and Mrs. Summers' skill with a needle, covered all the important bits and then some, and still the troll squawked?!  
  
Buffy and Willow were shocked when Xander calmly stepped forward, pulled out a paper and handed it to the principal.  
  
Snyder huffed and fumed but he couldn't really say anything. The title of all the series listed was at the top. Below was listed every official sub-story in the set he could find. At the bottom were their choices as well as highlighted descriptions of each character.  
  
"Fine! But don't think you're getting away with anything!"  
  
The troll huffed off. The grin Xander gave the girls nearly had them twitching in laughter, pure cat-ate-canary.

* * *

  
  
"Well this is going to be fun."  
  
"Can the sarcasm for now Xander."  
  
He sighed and complied. They were all changed from last night. Buffy was leaner and taller (whoopee!) and now acted much less blonde. When she tried anyway. She was still surprised she could remember, let alone use, most of the big words Giles and Willow used now.  
  
Willow seemed calmer, more graceful, and maybe just a little bit spacey too. She'd explained she was hearing the Earth and the stories it was telling her. From his own changed perspective he nodded in understanding and let well enough alone. She'd probably seem less spacey when she got more used to it.  
  
He himself had had a growth spurt and now had to consciously slow down or else risk leaving Buffy and Willow in the dust, literally!  
  
Now to see how Giles took it.  
  
"Hey G-man."  
  
"Good lord, what happened?"  
  
The level of British fluster was obvious from the glasses polishing and the lack of reaction to the nickname.  
  
Oh boy.  
  
"We got stuck with some extras last night."  
  
"So I've noticed. You're all a good bit taller and there's an energy around you."  
  
He finally calmed enough to slip his glasses back on.  
  
"Are there any other effects?"  
  
The trio shared a look before nodding.  
  
The images flickered and the holograms dispersed.  
  
"GOOD LORD!"  
  
He whipped his glasses off his face to polish them again, only to ehar them snap under the pressure.  
  
With a sigh Xander put his new twin blades back in place and folded down, much more comfortable on four legs for now. His bipedal height was great when the ceilings weren't so low.  
  
The girls soon followed his example, Buffy moving to sort through the weapons cage and Willow moving towards a sunny window and a plant there. Five minutes later the plant was looking much better and Buffy had a set of daggers for each of her limbs. No such thing as too many sharp-and-pointies after all.  
  
He flopped on top of a table, having read through the books there while the girls were doing their thing.  
  
"So, who wants to give the full explanation?"  
  
The girls gave him a look.  
  
"Yeah, that's what I thought."


	24. My Shadow

**CH 23 Costume:** Cheetor from Transformers Beast Machines: Battle For the Spark

* * *

  
  
Right now he really hated the girls.  
  
They'd agreed not to go as the noblewoman or the 'floozy', yes, but they didn't have to do this!  
  
They'd picked a cartoon they all knew and the girls had decided his costume.  
  
The girls' costumes were pretty reasonable, a police chief and a junior attorney. Not too shabby.  
  
So how the heck did he end up covered in black skin paint wearing a blue leotard!?

* * *

  
  
Spike winced as he was slammed into another wall. The thing that had been Droopy was smashing him around like no body's business. If he didn't get away soon, win or no win, he'd be dust!  
  
His eyes widened as a crackling blue ball started to form in the creature's hand. Just before it could be thrown he collapsed, clutching his head and howling.  
  
If nothing else Spike knew when to cut his losses.  
  
He ran, Dru by his side, determined to make it out of Sunnydale that night.  
  
Dru was giddy, babbling to herself.  
  
"Dark Kitten, White Knight, Dark Kitten, White Knight, shouldn't be able to be both and same. Dark Kitten, White Knight, Dark Kitten, White Knight, the stars sing louder about you now."  
  
They vanished in a shadow of insane cackling.

* * *

  
  
Xander glided from rooftop to rooftop. He'd made arrangements the day after Halloween with Giles.  
  
To the girls he was gone, away from the town, away from the Hellmouth, finally taking their advice to back out and live a normal life. Once a week or so he'd call, tell them about the great places he was visiting, the people he'd meet, 'but no one would ever take the place of my girls.'  
  
In reality he was gliding along with them. Following Willow to and from her home, making sure the boy who'd asked her out treated her nicely and properly. Tailing Buffy as she made her patrols, guarding her back, helping her live longer than she would have alone.  
  
There had been a hairy spot a few weeks after Halloween when he'd been spotted going after a demon that had been trying to get on her blind side in a fight. He'd taken off quickly and informed Giles.  
  
The Watcher, in all his plotting and planning had come up with a solution.  
  
Just because they didn't regularly hear about the good supernatural, didn't mean they didn't exist.  
  
A few nights later he was quoting a book to Buffy, talking about guardians and protectorates, what they could look like.  
  
The next night he'd deliberately approached her, keeping his form in shadows and letting his voice growl through feline features. He was completely unrecognizable as the human she had known.  
  
Now he kept watch, coming down when needed, taking part of the burden off her shoulders, keeping all of them safe.  
  
He knew she'd find out the truth one day. It was just the way his luck went. Until then he'd guard them from the shadows.  
  
Wouldn't Goliath laugh if he could see him now?


	25. Daylight

**CH 24 Costume:** Talon from Gargoyles

* * *

  
  
Ok, not what he would have chosen, but ok.  
  
Snyder had decided to coral them into trick-or-treating. Not like he was doing anything anyway, and he did like kids, being a big one himself.  
  
The costumes for himself, Buffy and Willow could have been a lot worse. Shuddering slightly he gave Jonathon's group a look. It sucked to have to dress as that purple dinosaur. With any luck Larry would be too embarrassed to bother him over it considering he was dressed as a Sesame Street character.  
  
Theirs came from literature. Giles had been happy and even if it wasn't what she'd planned, Buffy did know how to look good in a toga. And green really was a great color for Willow.  
  
Thankfully the troll was quick to hand out assignments and leave.  
  
Apparently even he had limits to what he could stomach.  
  


* * *

  
As magic washed over the town, three beings suddenly found themselves on the mortal plane. Children had been turned into beasts, humans shoved back in their bodies, anarchy wild in the streets.  
  
Exchanging a glance they nodded.  
  
Chaos would not get away with this.  
  
In the blink of an eye they were gone.

* * *

  
  
Ok, he knew way too much now.  
  
Seriously.  
  
Finding out about the Hellmouth was bad enough, this was the lump sum of existence! His head was still spinning with the amount of information he had now.  
  
Bright blue-gray eyes looked around at the rest of the Scoobies. Giles had remained unchanged since he hadn't been wearing a costume. Then again, being visited by a deity you used to worship and granted a boon to use whenever was not too shabby a thing. The other god and goddesses that had shown up to add their gifts for use was not a bad thing either.  
  
Buffy was grinning, her intellect finally matching her physical prowess. She now realized she wasn't in a fight, but a war. And she intended to win it.  
  
Thankfully her maturity level had also gone up several notches.  
  
He didn't think any of them could smack some sense in to her after Halloween without her permitting it.  
  
The shy, tame Willow was gone. Or rather, absorbed into a much steadier, calmer being.  
  
She looked at peace with herself, reading one of the old books Giles had by one bright window, the used-to-be-dead fern winding around her hand as she petted the leaves like a kitten to a good scratch. Her birth family may have been lacking, but what she had now in the earth and the plants more than made up for it. She was rock-steady and blooming like one of the rarer flowers in the sun.  
  
He was happy for her.  
  
As for himself….  
  
He couldn't help a rather amused and wicked grin.  
  
His features had tanned a bit, his hair lighter and his eyes almost the opposite color they had been. Still, appearances aside he was not complaining.  
  
Sneezing and instantaneously dusting a dozen vamps when his new powers went momentarily wonky was one heck of a plus in his book. He really needed to learn to do that on purpose.  
  
That or have Willow carry that flower around with her for sneeze-mergencies.


	26. Kitten to Cat

**CH 25 Costume:** Apollo from Greek Mythology

* * *

  
  
God this sucked!  
  
Snyder was an evil little bastard. Not only were they forced to help with the trick-or-treat on their one night off, but they had to follow a theme. And the theme was musicals!  
  
At least he had an idea. He didn't want to think about what the girls may have shoved him into. A spin by the new costume shop (Party Town was way over priced) and he had the face paint and other items he'd needed. It was under $10 so he could live with it.  
  
Now, where was that black shirt Buffy had gotten him?

* * *

  
  
"Xander?"  
  
"Hi Mrs. S."  
  
The elder Summers woman stepped back to allow the teen in, taking in the sight of shiny black pants and shirt, white fluffy fur poking out where the buttons opened around his neck, the black attached tail and the face paint.  
  
"So this is what you chose for the theme Buffy was complaining about earlier?"  
  
He couldn't help but shrug and look embarrassed.  
  
"Wills loved it when we were younger and honestly, it wasn't as bad as I pretended it was."  
  
She smiled, it was a good way to pull it off.  
  
"Just a moment. There's an element missing."  
  
Hurrying out of the room she came back with a small spray canister and a brush. Xander looked it over before giving a shrug and a smile.  
  
"If you say the outfit needs it, who am I to argue?"  
  
He looked in the mirror afterwards and had to admit, it really did pull the whole costume together. And he'd never admit to anyone he'd willing stood still for sparkle application!  
  
"Hey Mom, is Xander here?" Buffy, dressed as the traditional Valkyrie from opera, paused on the stairs to look at the man in costume at the bottom talking to her mother.  
  
Yummy!  
  
"Buffy? What's … oh."  
  
Willow, in her own costume that looked to come from the same place as Xander's stopped just short of running in to her.  
  
The teen in question grinned and waved to them.  
  
Both girls made a note to make him dress in fitting clothes in the future.

* * *

  
  
Drucilla spun in place, laughing as the stars sang to her.  
  
"What are they saying, pet?"  
  
"Dark Kitten is Kitten no longer, now the Cat, a marvelous, marvelous Cat. Chaos will snap and shift and change the body, souls from stories dance about tonight. The Slayer will go bye-bye but we mustn't try to touch her, for the Rider that lives in her place. The Willow tree will bend and snap back. My Dark Kitten will be Kitten no more, but the cleverest conjuring Cat!"  
  
Spike watched as she danced and made a note to lie low for a good long time.  
  
She only ever smiled this much when the lines of Fate blew up in their faces.  
  


* * *

  
~*~*~Years Later~*~*~  
  
Xander had recognized her for what she was the moment he saw her. He wasn't insane though, rather far from it now. It was just his nature to know magics and understand them.  
  
The migraine he'd had the first full week after that Halloween had been proof of that!  
  
It had taken a little bit to get used to his new form and its limits. That was to say, what limits? He could do practically anything he wanted now. Not that he would, but the ability was there, the power.  
  
But the change had also given him the clarity to see that he'd never be the kind of person to use power simply to show he had it. It wasn't his Nature.  
  
But when called upon to protect those that were his, by right or choice, well that was another story all together then, wasn't it?  
  
Grinning a little fanged grin he slunk into the shadows, pretty as you please.

* * *

  
  
"Where is my Key!?"  
  
Glory was in a fuming rage, tossing the minion into the wall, not caring if it killed him. If they couldn't do their job properly then they shouldn't expect to live. End of story.  
  
A bit of movement caught her attention. A little black cat trotted between shadows.  
  
Hmm, kind of pretty with how much is sparkled, but it was hardly worth her attention.  
  
After all, the cat was only hunting for mice.  
  
Right?


	27. Peace Hunter

**CH 26 Costume:** Mr. Mistoffelees from T S Elliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats  
  


* * *

  
This was brilliant. This was easy. And, most importantly, this was cheap!  
  
That movie he'd seen with the girls was great for ideas. He'd seen trucks and cars all over town sporting symbols since it had come out.  
  
Including a large truck that had pulled in to refuel a few days ago before pulling right back out of town.  
  
He'd raided the closet in the basement, finding the cowboy hat and boots. Both of which surprisingly fit him and polished up to a nice clean white.  
  
Add a red shirt, some decently fitted blue jeans (who knew he actually had a pair!?), and a belt and he was almost done.  
  
Slipping to the garage he managed to find an old circular container that had long since gone empty. He knew his folks wouldn't miss it. Hell, they didn't miss him!  
  
It didn't take much to cut the container in half and bang it a bit to make it conform to his forearms. Add some paint and some ties to keep them on and he was done.  
  
And it didn't cost a thing.  
  
Grinning he finished off his outfit and headed out the door.

* * *

  
  
"Hi Xander! Ya know, for non-spandex, you look good."  
  
"And I could say the same of you, Lady Buffy."  
  
He couldn't help but grin, a little smugly, as Willow came down in the ever-classic ghost-sheet.  
  
Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes. When no one was looking, she slipped Xander a twenty.  
  
She hated loosing bets.

* * *

  
  
"What in Primus?"  
  
Bright blue eyes canned the mayhem around him. His form was still solid, ages of combat keeping it up when less experienced might have lost it at the shock.  
  
"Xander!?"  
  
He turned towards the human voice.  
  
This time he nearly did lose his form when she passed right through him. And it was evident he was not at fault.  
  
Only advanced audio processing let him keep up with the human's rapid speech.  
  
He didn't know how much he could do without giving away secrets he couldn't afford to have known, but he'd try. These humans refused to give up.  
  
The least he could do was aid as much as he could in this form.  
  
It would only put them in greater danger if they knew the truth.

* * *

  
  
~*~*~*~A Few Years Later~*~*~*~  
  
Quentin Travers was not a tolerant man. The Slayer had defied Council Rule, fought, not alone, but with children, ignored edicts, dared to quit the Council!  
  
It wasn't enough that she'd broken the rules so dramatically, but even after getting one of her friends killed she still hadn't learned her lesson!  
  
It was entirely unacceptable.  
  
It was time to bring the Slayer to heel.  
  
He conversed with the wet works teams following in two other vans. They were going to take out the older Slayer and bring the other back for proper training.  
  
More than one person startled when the communications suddenly filled with interference before a garbled voice came over the joint speaker.  
  
"Are you one, Quentin Travers, head of the Council of Watchers, charged with the education and support of the Slayer?"  
  
"What if I am?" This was curious. Never had any Watcher been contacted this way but the witches in Council employ guaranteed that humans couldn't hack their communications and demons would never bother.  
  
It had to be a Higher Being.  
  
"I have a boon to grant the true supporters of the Slayer."  
  
Travers grinned. This would make things so much easier.  
  
"I am Quentin Travers, Head of the Watchers' Council, supporter of the true Slayer."  
  
There was a pause that almost made him think the Bring had gone on.  
  
Then it returned, clearer and sounding both aged and young.  
  
"Good."  
  
The Watchers traded looks in confusion.  
  
Until the road in front of them vanished in an explosion of light and sound.  
  
The vans screeched to a stop, one barely managing to stay on the road rather than falling in the massive crater that now decorated the center of the road.  
  
Travers didn't have time to do anything other than yelp when his van was suddenly yanked off the road, the roof peeled away like it was tin foil. The Watchers looked up, stunned and afraid of the figure that towered over them, holding the van like a child's toy, bright blue eyes glowing down at them from far overhead.  
  
Then the figure spoke.  
  
"Let's discuss how the word 'support' does not mesh with overindulged aged men sending young girls to their deaths for the sake of personal control and gain, shall we?"  
  
"She has caused the death of one of her friends directly! We have to bring her under control!"  
  
"Death? I didn't die. I just… went out of town for a while. And you have just signed your own warrant."  
  
The old man could only gape as he realized that Fate had finally withdrawn her favor.  
  
Quentin Travers, head of the Watchers' Council, was never seen again.


	28. Puppy

**CH 27 Costume:** Optimus Prime from Transformers The Movie

* * *

  
  
Dangit. There went the last gun. Granted the look on the mom's face was great, but now he was screwed.  
  
Sighing he leaned back against a rack and tried to think of what to do.  
  
Of course Harris luck kicked in and a set of fake shoulder paldrons fell on his head.  
  
Grumbling he rubbed his sore head, glaring between the bits of cheap metal and the shelf where they'd fallen.  
  
Then he stopped.  
  
On that same shelf there was a bit of something black and spiky hanging down and a dark purple turtleneck.  
  
This had possibilities.

* * *

  
  
Spike growled as Droopy turned another sweep of minions to dust.  
  
The evening had started so well. Dru had told of the Slayer becoming a meek little thing and then something about her Kitten becoming the Puppy.  
  
When she'd started with that laugh he really should have taken the hint to leave town. That laugh only ever accompanied her amusement and his pain.  
  
Just as he was turning to leave he yelped and went flying.  
  
The boy had caught him in the backside with that monster of a sword.  
  
The brat had spanked him!?

* * *

  
  
-Ya know, this isn't so bad.-  
  
"Yeah, it could certainly be worse."  
  
-At least it was someone close to my personality.-  
  
Xander snorted. "Can you imagine if you ended up with Giles?"  
  
He felt the new presence in his mind shudder. "Oh sweet Shiva no! I'd have to learn!"  
  
Xander couldn't help but laugh at that.  
  
He'd changed since Halloween. Apparently Chaos liked him.  
  
Whoopee.  
  
As such the magics affected him differently. It reached across dimensional barriers, found the soul of a warrior that had passed on, and shoved it into him.  
  
And when the magics ended, he hadn't left.  
  
The Hyena didn't seem to have a problem with him. He could swear he heard her call him cub or pup. The warrior just seemed to roll with it. Why start a fight over nothing?  
  
He was a little devil on Xander's shoulder now. The training ideas, the strength, the abilities, were great help with the girls.  
  
But he also knew that he'd have to leave one day.  
  
That day was thankfully still far in the future. But one day the girls and Giles would ask why he was still so young, why he hadn't really aged like they had.  
  
Indigo eyes watched the starry sky, carefully picking out the path to the Other Place.  
  
When the day came that he finally had to leave he'd follow the Stream back and find the warrior's friend, his brother.  
  
Xander grinned.  
  
Maybe he'd have a brother again. Even if Choco-butt was a true blonde.  
  
The warrior that shared his mind laughed.


	29. Music and Metal

**CH 28 Costume:** Zack Fair from Final Fantasy VII

* * *

  
  
Xander was at a loss. He really didn't know what to go as now that the soldier idea was caput. There was a no-weapons rule laid down by the troll.  
  
He'd even confiscated a foam bat. Foam!  
  
Huffing he took another look in the bargain bin, hoping something would jump out at him.  
  
Well, not literally anyway.  
  
There in the corner was a set of oversized headphones like a DJ might use. The wire coming out of the headpiece was ripped, leaving a dangling end. Probably why they were on discount.  
  
Mentally he went over the characters from movies, books and TV he knew of that he could be with a set of headphones. He knew there had to be at least one.  
  
Finally, it clicked. The headphones and some silver paint later and he was walking home.  
  
Still the proud two dollar costume king.  
  


* * *

  
"Hi Xander, what are you supposed to be?"  
  
"Hi Mrs. S. Technically, one of the best undercover guys, ever."  
  
He grinned as she looked over his costume. The headphones were around his neck, the wire clipped off and replaced with a mini antenna. On the sides of the ear pieces was a stylized metallic silver face with a little 'J' done to the bottom right of each face. The rest of his outfit consisted of a snug black t-shirt, jeans and construction boots. Overall, he looked like a young man from just about anywhere in the States.  
  
"Well you certainly look nice, Xander. Have a good evening."  
  
"Thanks Mrs. S. As soon as the girls are ready we can go."  
  
As if summoned Buffy and Willow came down the stairs, Buffy huffing over Willow hiding that great outfit under the ghost sheet.  
  
Willow smiled as she spotted Xander's costume. Sneaky and clever enough to get around Snyder's rule.  
  
What the troll didn't know was meant to be a weapon couldn't be confiscated.  
  
Xander always was smarter than he believed he was.

* * *

  
  
"Xander, why are we all here, rather than in the library?"  
  
Giles was sitting on a park bench, polishing his glasses. Buffy and Willow were on the one next to him, chattering quietly and waiting for the 'boys' to settle down to business.  
  
The sun was bright, the day was warm, his headphones were quietly pumping out some of his favorite music from around his neck (that had been a rather nice discovery) and his friends were all here.  
  
Time to drop the bombshell.  
  
"Some of the things from Halloween stuck."  
  
Giles stopped polishing his glasses to stare.  
  
"What do you mean, stuck?"  
  
"As in didn't go away, part of me, not going to go bye-bye."  
  
Giles started rubbing his glasses again. Harder.  
  
"Oh no! We can fix it though, right? I mean we have to be able to fix it!?"  
  
"There's nothing to fix. Actually, this may have been a good thing."  
  
Willow and Buffy could only stare in shock and Giles kept polishing his glasses.  
  
"Wills, who did I dress as?"  
  
It took the redhead a moment to think about it, but then it clicked.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Yup."  
  
Willow's nervous babble suddenly stopped and she smiled.  
  
"So, Xan, how much of what did you keep?"  
  
Giles stopped polishing, Buffy looked curious, and Willow just saw his mischievous smile and eyed the car she hadn't noticed behind him, parked just beyond the park's fence.  
  
With a wicked grin Xander shimmered then vanished.  
  
Before Giles or Buffy could do more than sit up at full alert there came a musical sound from the lot. Three pairs of eyes stared in awe as the former car shifted until in its place stood a tall metallic figure. The features were alien, the limbs similar but odd, but the stance and body language was pure Xander.  
  
"Well, what do you think?"  
  
There was a 'chink!' as Giles polished right through his glasses. Willow, getting over her shock stumbled over and he knelt down, lowering one hand palm up. Awe shifted to a smile as she ran a hand over her best friend's now metal hand.  
  
Buffy was still as a statue for the longest time before a wicked grin crossed her face.  
  
"Xander?"  
  
"Yeah Buff?"  
  
The three humans noticed that in place of brown eyes were blue…. somethings that still managed to seem Xander-ish.  
  
"Can we get Spike to steal you, and then have you do that flippy thing?"  
  
The others paused their motions and stared into space as they contemplated.  
  
Then Xander's face moved into what was unmistakably a grin.  
  
"That has potential for much goodness."  
  
Willow giggled as she settled in Xander's hand and let him lift her up.  
  
So he was over 15 feet tall and metal, big deal.  
  
As if feeling her gaze Xander turned his head towards her and smiled that one smile that was only ever for her and Jesse.  
  
He was still her Xander. And always would be.


	30. Visiting Home

**CH 29 Costume:** Jazz from Transformers the Movie  
  
  
 **This is a Willow Special.**  
  


* * *

  
"Willow! Come on, I've got the perfect costume for you!"  
  
"Nope, already got it."  
  
"You are so not going as a ghost! The heck with classics, it's come as you aren't night!"  
  
"She's not going as a ghost, Buff. Wills picked these out a while ago and we decided to do them this year in memory of Jesse."  
  
Xander sidled up to Willow, a bag clutched in his hand. They had only gotten to the costume shop minutes earlier, Buffy almost instantly falling over the gown.  
  
When had they had time to shop!?  
  
"He had them? The special sparkles and the scarves?"  
  
"Yup. Just had to pick it all up. Got a discount too since it was a bit hard to sell to anyone who didn't know the series. Good idea to call in early and ask for him to hold this. Nice guy too."  
  
Willow smiled and flung her arms around his neck, starting to babble about things she'd need to do for both of them and when he should come over so she could help him get into character. It was rather obvious that Xander was doing this to make Willow happy.  
  
Buffy sighed and decided to just go with it. Willow was happy, Xander, if not completely thrilled, seemed happy and it wasn't a ghost.  
  
She could deal.

* * *

  
  
"Xander, Willow, nice costumes. Who are you supposed to be?"  
  
Mrs. Summers stepped back, letting the two teens into the house. Both were dressed in slightly British looking get ups with sweaters, pea coats and scarves. Oddly enough, both of their outfits were entirely white and sparkled a bit from glitter Willow had used.  
  
The two shared a glance and smirked.  
  
"Case-workers. Very special, and overworked, case-workers."

* * *

  
  
Willow didn't remember much from Halloween night. Still, a few things had lingered. There was the slight accent and a love for coffee, (which he tried to turn towards decaf, heaven help him), plus a boost in self confidence. She was so much happier now, finally fitting in her skin. And that new guy was treating her well, making her smile.  
  
It was good.  
  
His own character…. well there would be adjusting needed.  
  
But things were so much clearer now.  
  
He knew without a doubt where Jesse had ended up, had been able to see him oh so briefly. But Jesse hadn't blamed him, had thanked him, and let him know that while he missed both him and Willow they'd better not join him too soon.  
  
The dead were obvious to him now, and the un-souled. His type of… being was never meant to exist in this world. But now thanks to a Chaos spell he did.  
  
He didn't have all the abilities, or the knowledge or the confidence. But what he had he used as he could.  
  
He could tell why Spike was different from other master vamps, how much the curse on Angel tortured both the soul and the demon.  
  
And he could tell when Death was watching, waiting for the moment to take a soul Home.  
  
Old Mrs. Josephine had lived next door to him for years, offered him a safe haven when his parents were too scary and baked him cookies every time he 'helped' in her yard. One of the few truly sweet people he'd been privileged enough to know.  
  
Last night, after everything had settled a bit and he'd been at his front door, he'd looked over to the door of her simple but homey house. Two figures had stood on the stoop, one of them a gentleman all in white, the other looking very much like Mrs. Josephine might have many years ago. For some reason he'd checked his watch. 12:42AM, All Saints Day.  
  
Later in the morning, when it was nearly afternoon, he'd seen the ambulance in front of her house and the covered gurney. And he understood.  
  
His gaze moved to Giles where he sat pouring over books yet again. Trying to figure out if what was left from the possessions was safe to leave alone or not.  
  
Xander smiled a bit.  
  
Maybe he should pull Giles aside and explain the Slayers' Gift, just to give him some comfort.  
  
Too long had the Watchers' believed that "I am the Slayer, death is my gift" was a calling to the life of battle and bloodshed and killing.  
  
They were wrong.  
  
"Death is my Gift" was, no _is_ , a promise, a guaranteed welcome Home for the weary soldier after a long hard fight. And there wasn't a Slayer who didn't deserve that reassurance.  
  
A soft fluttering sound caught his attention. On the open windowsill sat a pure white dove, cooing softly in the morning light.  
  
After a moment he smiled and made his way to his mentor-father.  
  
"Hey, Giles?"  
  
The librarian looked up from his book, quickly hiding the worn look behind a careful mask of steadiness and surety. He was utterly confused when Xander just smiled peacefully at him.  
  
"We need to talk."  
  
On the windowsill the dove cooed once more before simply flying away.


	31. Rag Doll

**CH 30 Costume:** Andrew from Touched by an Angel  
  
AN:  Thanks everyone and enjoy!  
  
Happy Halloween!

* * *

  
  
"Xander Xander Xander _Xander Xander **Xander!**_ "  
  
Xander grunted and blinked as he was suddenly staring at the ceiling. Huh. It had been a while since he'd been the target of a hyper-Willow-tackle-hug. They were good, but rib bruising. It was probably for the best.  
  
Buffy just watched the pair in confusion.  
  
"Lookit!"  
  
Beaming like a two-year-old with a painting of her very own finger paints she held a thick envelope out to Xander.  
  
Taking it he examined the cover and pulled out the contents. Inside were two paperback novels and a letter. The writing was loopy and scrawly in a way that would be right at home on a Halloween card.  
  
And he knew exactly who it had come from.  
  
His grin matched Willow's as he read the letter.  
  
 _Xander, Jesse and Willow,_  
  
 _Good grief it's been forever! What have you three been up to? If you looked in the rest of the envelope it's kind of obvious what I've been up to. I finally wrote the sucker out! Also got the director from the original movie to take a look at it. So far he actually likes it. Woot!_  
  
 _Take a good look, I think you'll recognize a few characters I decided to put in. I miss you guys tons so it's a good thing my next bit of news pulled through._  
  
 _I'm visiting for Halloween!_  
  
 _Don't worry about costumes, I'm bringing some stuff with me. I thought if you liked what I did enough, we could go as characters._  
  
 _Can't wait to see you all again!_  
  
 _Much love and spookies,_  
  
 _~Jill_  
  
Xander's face fell a bit as he read. Jill was someone who'd come to town years ago on a summer vacation with her parents and just seemed to instantly meld with their little group. They'd only been six or seven at the time, and they really put their parents to task. She'd come back every summer for five years before she stopped, sending letters when she could.  
  
And he realized that he and Willow had never thought to tell her about Jesse.  
  
"Damnit."  
  
"Xander?"  
  
"She doesn't know about Jess."  
  
"Poopy."  
  
Willow slumped a bit, still sitting on Xander's stomach.  
  
Buffy, as usual, broke the silence.  
  
"What're those?"  
  
The blonde slayer was pointing to the set of books still in Xander's hand.  
  
"Ah! She was writing this story ever since we were little kids. She finally managed to make it into something coherent, or so she says. 'Scuse us!"  
  
He hopped up, managing to right Willow as he did so, giving her a book and heading towards a set of comfy chairs in the sun.  
  
Buffy managed to glimpse at the back of the book, seeing an illustration of four rather odd children. One looked like the ghost of a little boy, one little girl witch that almost seemed to have flames on her head, a little rag-doll boy with a patchwork shirt, and a bone pale girl smiling like there was a great joke just waiting to happen.  


* * *

  
~*~Halloween~*~  
  
"Xander! Willow!"  
  
"Jill!" Buffy and Giles looked up to see Xander practically engulf a small young woman in a hug. She was almost alarmingly pale and bony. If it weren't for the bright sunlight she was bathed in they'd peg her for a vamp or a ghost. Willow moved almost faster than a Slayer at full tilt, glomping on to the duo and nearly knocking them over.  
  
"OhmygoshJill! It'ssogoodtoseeyou,howhaveyoubeen? What'sthewordonthebook? Thestoryisgreat! AmIsupposedtobethelittlefirewitch? Xanlookssocuteasthatlittleboy!"  
  
The new girl interrupted Willow's speed-babble with a laugh.  
  
"A Willow is a Willow, no matter what. Ask her to speak and she'll speed right on by you. Dang I've missed you! Where's Pervy?"  
  
The girl paused as she watched the saddened expressions grow on her friends' faces.  
  
"Guys?"  
  
"He's gone, Jill. It happened earlier this year."  
  
"Oh… batnuts."  
  
She'd always had an odd list of curses and that was a bad one. Her shoulders slumped and she let Xander pull her close for one of his famous I'll-make-it-better-hugs.  
  
"I think we should go with your idea for costumes."  
  
She startled and pulled back from Xander to stare at Willow. Behind her Xander nodded.  
  
"We can get a floating collar and a tag for him. Your mom did say he followed you around like a puppy."  
  
The girl laughed and nodded. Willow smiled. It was a good idea.  
  
"Excuse me, miss?"  
  
The trio broke apart, apparently forgetting that they weren't alone in the library. Buffy and Giles were staring at them in slight amusement and curiosity.  
  
"Oh, sorry, where are my manners. Mom would have had my hide for that. I'm Jill King."  
  
Smiling she offered her hand to the two, both noting how cool it seemed. Something niggled at Giles' memory.  
  
"Jill King? Parents Jack and Sally?"  
  
"Yup! You know them?"  
  
"Not personally, but I do know of them."  
  
"I'll take that as a compliment then. It's less worrisome."  
  
Giles smiled and nodded, still trying to remember why those names seemed familiar.

* * *

  
  
"Hi Mrs. S. Buffy ready yet?"  
  
Smiling the Summers matriarch stepped back, letting the three teens into the house. She had to admit they looked good. All of them were only wearing one color on their clothing, black. Willow was dressed as a witch in a short dress with cropped leggings underneath and a sparkly sash. The neckline was around her shoulders and almost seemed to grow sticks as a sort of collar. Her hat was scrunched in a manner that suggested a lot of use and being picked up and thrown on. In her hair bits of sparkly red and yellow streamers were woven, making it look like her hair was on fire.  
  
Xander was in a patchwork shirt that looked like it had taken scraps from every kind of black cloth available and added a patch somewhere. Stitches appeared on his arms and face, as if he were patched together too, but not in a really scary way. Rather, with his hair more mussed up than usual, he looked like a well loved rag doll that made sure the monsters under the bed didn't bother his girls.  
  
The third girl stood a bit behind the other teens, waiting to be introduced. She was dressed in what looked like a tunic and a short skirt with spider web leggings underneath that vanished into tall pointy-heeled boots. Her pointed hat was a bit smaller than Willow's and her sleeves belled out to almost cover her hands entirely. Still one hand clutched the end of a carny floating-collar that had a tag with "Jesse" clearly printed on it. Joyce had to admit the appearance of her, however friendly, made her a bit edgy. She wasn't convinced that her skin coloring and bruise-purple eyes were make-up effects.  
  
"Hello ma'am. I'm Jill. Just visiting for the holiday."  
  
Buffy saved what might have been a tense situation by descending the stairs in her period gown. Jill stared for a moment before leaning over and whispering in Xander's ear.  
  
"Is it just me, or does that dress decrease your IQ by 20 points too?"  
  
Xander made a passable attempt at turning snickering into coughing. Willow just arched an eyebrow at them.  


* * *

  
Buffy was fussing around her watcher, driving him to distraction. Neither of them had seen Xander or Willow since the night prior before the spell took effect.  
  
Buffy was never more grateful she had 'fainted' around a guy dressed as King Arthur. It still hit her pride, but at least the guy had been the only one around.  
  
Just as she was working herself up to a good head of steam again Xander and Willow walked into the library, looking none the worse for the wear.  
  
Both were promptly glomped and fussed over by Slayer and Watcher alike.  
  
It was odd that neither of them noticed the new pendants the two now wore.  


* * *

  
~*~One Year Later~*~  
  
They had all agreed to have a calm Halloween at the library this year. Monitor things, get candy, and avoid costumes. Good ideas all around.  
  
But Xander and Willow weren't there yet.  
  
"Giles, I'm getting worried."  
  
"I understand, Buffy. There's probably a good reason though and they'll be right along. We can worry when things to go to pot."  
  
Buffy opened her mouth to retort when she stopped, seeming to listen for something.  
  
"Do you hear that?"  
  
Snatching up an ax she darted outside, her Watcher cursing and following close behind.  
  
Neither expected to see Jill back and waiting, staring down the street in her costume from the previous year.  
  
"Jill? Where are Xander and Willow?"  
  
"They're coming. Just got pulled into the parade. They'll be fine."  
  
"Parade?"  
  
Now there was something seriously bothering the Watcher.  
  
"Yeah. Dad's parade. He managed to get time to come in for some special work and wanted to make an entrance."  
  
"Jill, what did you say your surname was?"  
  
Giles was watching her warily now, praying a bit that he was wrong, but also that he was right.  
  
She grinned a grin that seemed more than a bit insane.  
  
"I said my name was Jill King, which is technically true."  
  
A few stems of music could be heard coming up the street, the parade finally visible.  
  
 _"This is Halloween,  
  
this is Halloween,  
  
everybody make a scene,  
  
trick or treat til your neighbor's gonna die of fright!"_  
  
"The name you want is Jill Skellington."  
  
Laughing dementedly she rushed off to join the parade, Xander and Willow coming into view and pulling off their pendants. Willow's hair flickered with fire as a familiar ghost marched next to her, dog collar still around his neck. Xander had to quickly grab his arm as the stitches came loose. Jill rushed over, managing to keep in step and sew it back into place at the same time.  
  
Just behind them a wooden horse was pulled by all manner of things not human, a scarecrow sitting atop it.  
  
The music picked up and the singing got louder and the scarecrow started to burn.  
  
"Good Lord. Jack Skellington and Sally."  
  
Buffy looked at her Watcher in apprehension.  
  
"The King of the Patch will come back with his Rag Doll Queen to remind all things why Halloween is kept free of evil beings, kept only for the Frightful."  
  
A woman who looked a great deal like Jill joined them, giving her a hug before turning to the others, grinning and laughing, her own stitching coming loose from her enthusiastic motions.  
  
On the wooden horse, the burning scarecrow started to dance.  
  
 _"In this town_  
  
 _We call home,_  
  
 _Everyone hail to the Pumpkin Song!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CH 31 Costume: Rag Doll Boy from a plot for The Nightmare Before Christmas  
> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
> Well, that's it  
> We're through  
> And it has been fun  
> And yet there's still  
> So much to be done  
> Costumes and stories  
> The telling goes on  
> What happened, who changed?  
> What else yet beyond?  
> Now sit and still  
> and do let me think  
> The stories aren't over  
> Not yet, at the brink  
> So I'll wander and wend  
> and weave a few spells  
> No flit right along  
> There's more yet to tell.....
> 
> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Have at!  
> Lady A


End file.
